We were delighted to host a special presentation on Voluntary Carbon Markets—Supporting Net-Zero Emissions Goals that was part of the IIF ESG Webinar Series, which was designed to promote understanding of the rapidly evolving landscape for sustainable investment and to align efforts to measure and track climate finance.
To limit atmospheric warming to 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement, the world must halve existing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Accordingly, companies around the world will need to adjust their business models and develop credible transition plans. This webinar looked at how growing momentum in voluntary carbon markets can support global climate goals, including ambitious corporate commitments to reach net-zero emissions.
As set out by the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets—initiated by Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance—renewables, nature-based carbon offsets and energy efficiency projects are all critical tools in reducing greenhouse gases and reaching net-zero emissions. But these alone will not be enough to support the global transition away from fossil fuels. We need to develop technologies that can transform our economy—such as low-carbon fuels for heavy transport, low-carbon steel and cement, and better carbon removal technologies. Voluntary carbon markets can support new programs to finance, structure, and deploy these critical solutions now so that in the future we can accelerate sustainable development—including in emerging economies that host most of the world’s carbon offset projects.
FEATURED SPEAKER:
- Chris Leeds, Executive Director, Commodity Origination, Standard Chartered
HOST:
- Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance, IIF